Update: Fire destroys Wakarusa furniture factory

Firefighters battled a huge fire in Wakarusa. For a while, it shut down busy Indiana 19. The fire started just after noon today, and crews have worked since then to keep it from spreading.

It's at Miller Custom Hardwoods on the east side of Indiana 19 in Wakarusa. The company makes furniture.

The only thing left standing is a giant funnel. The rest of this 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility has been reduced to a pile of rubble.

Just a few hours before, though, it was a very different scene. As more than 40 firefighters from three departments battled 50-foot flames spurred on by the abundance of wood and highly flammable varnish inside.

Fire crews say they were lucky there was a hydrant nearby, but they had to use so much water, they still had to truck in tanker after tanker from outside Wakarusa.

The flames were so hot, crews were prevented from getting inside.

Luckily, the 16 workers at the factory all got out safe and sat in disbelief as the 20-year-old building burned to the ground.

"I seen some people running, I thought they were playing around, then more people came running with fire extinguishers and I looked up and saw flames coming out of the spray room, and I was out. Everybody got out. It's terrible, horrific Â? I don't know what to think," said Shirley Null, a worker at the factory.

The building's owner said he does have insurance and he promises to rebuild, but that will be a monumental task.

Fire crews estimate the loss in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. They're not sure what caused it yet, but think it started when varnish was being sprayed.

At this point, investigators say there's nothing that leads them to label it suspicious.

Indiana 19 was closed while crews were fighting the fire, but it is open in one lane in each direction as of Tuesday afternoon.

Check the SBT24/7News page as well as <> and WSBT-TV for updates to this story.